There was something that Oliver Wilde couldn't do and was terrified of. The new information was hard to swallow. She had to blink several times to make sure she wasn't seeing things and might have hit her head on the ice.
But no, there was the love of her life, holding the boards in the ice skating rink. His legs were trembling and he glared so hard at Kayla that she thought his eyes would pop out.
Kayla sighed, spun around gracefully, and skated in his direction stopping before him. "I told you to start at the edge so you would be comfortable. I also said you should bend your knees slightly and push your weight forward to maintain stability not grip the board so hard that it might break."
"I told you I don't want to be here but you dragged me here! Let's leave!" He tried to stand but almost fell and it was Kayla who placed her hand on his chest to stabilize him."
"But today is the 10th and you said you would do whatever I want for the day! You promised!" She pouted her lips and Oliver felt a headache coming on.
March 2nd he gave her the most stunning green dress because Oliver was a Slytherin.
March 3rd he bought her 100 white roses and when she looked up what they meant she almost cried her eyes out. "I am totally devoted to you."
March 4th was a signed copy of Harry Potter and the next day it was Percy Jackson then it was Circular Pyramid. Pampered. She was utterly pampered. March 7th he got her a spa session and she had never felt so much better in her entire life.
All the foods she was allowed to cook had to contain irons. What would she do without him? What would they do without each other?
One night, she stayed up working on her script for her play and she found Oliver screaming because of his nightmares. She held him in her arms throughout the entire night. Her hands kept stroking his hair assuring him that she won't leave him. He kept saying, "Don't leave me."
How does one's soul shatter? Not words but actions. Oliver's reaction that night destroyed her. She was gutted beyond repair. When he was showering, she crept in and kissed every scar on his back. "You take care of me, let me take care of you." She had said, gently. He froze but eased into her when he got used to her lips on him.
Oliver looked away, clenching his jaw. "Hold my hand, Ollie." Grumbling, he did as he was told and Kayla led him to the middle of the rink.
"If you let go of my hand I will kill you!"
"I'm not letting go. God, you're such a child! How did you even learn how to ride a bike!?" She clicked her tongue but got no response from him. His eyes had turned cold.
"I never did." When he never had a father to be there for him.
"Well then, Kayla is here to teach you this and ride a bike too! Now we have to learn it today, so listen to me!" He couldn't dare dampen her spirits. She was chirpy and her smile shone brighter than the sun. He would give anything to keep seeing it all his life. And he would.
At last, after 5,000 death threats, she let go of his hand. "Don't glide, Ollie! March to me!" Kayla stood at the edge of the rink and watched as Oliver made his way to her.
People skated around him to not bump into him. Couples were scattered around them, with little kids and parents. The rink felt full and at ease even with the cold threatening to chip away at her bones.
"Good! That's it!" She clapped encouraging him but Oliver wobbled. "You can do this, Ollie! You can!"
If looks could kill, Kayla would be dead. She was embarrassing him. He was a grown man and children could skate better than him!
He was almost there when he saw a man striking up a conversation with his girlfriend. His eyes narrowed at him when he saw Kayla smile at the idiot. The smile was meant for him.
Ignoring her warning not to glide, he did and he tumbled forward before losing his balance and fell to the ice with a thud on his butt.
"Oliver!" Kayla gasped, gliding as fast as she could to help him. She crouched beside him. "Are you okay? Oh my God, what happened!?" She was doing her best to hold in her laughter.
"I could ask you the same thing! What was he saying to you?" Kayla landed on her butt unable to control her laughter.
"It's not funny!"
"I'm sorry but…" her sentence wasn't complete because she was trembling because of her laughs. His eyes softened, lips parted as he couldn't avert his gaze.
"Have you finished?" He clipped and Kayla cleared her throat.
"Sorry."
"What did he say to you?" They were an odd couple, sitting on the floor. People smiled when they saw them. To be young and free.
"Who? Jude?"
"So that's his name? Crude? Was he flirting with you?"
"Is that what you are thinking about? He told me that he admires that you are learning how to skate for me! What the fuck!?" She groaned, shaking her head at him.
"Really?" His voice still held suspicion.
"Yes, you prat! Now let's get you up and you go back to the edge or you'll have a concussion and give me a heart attack!" He was grinning like a fool when Kayla pulled him up.
The music in the rink changed to "Skater's Waltz" by Émile Waldteufel. Kayla skated to the middle after pecking Oliver on the cheek and asking him to watch.
The song was an ice skating classic and she had learned the routine way back when she still had her cello. Between taking care of Evie and learning all the things a lady must learn to prepare for marriage she had no time to enjoy anything she did but ice skating wasn't that bad. It was a freeing experience.
Prancing and dancing on ice, letting the music flow through your veins as you move across the ice. The feeling was second to none.
Oliver didn't just watch, he recorded everything she did, with such seriousness like when he was studying for his final exams in college. She was beautiful and the ice and music were hers to bend to her will.
Other people had stopped to watch her too. She wasn't a professional but her charisma and the way she immersed herself in the music calmed the soul.
"Your wife is very talented. You are a lucky man." A voice peered from beside him. He didn't even turn to see who spoke and just nodded with stars in his eyes. "I am."
When the music ended, Kayla was in front of him. "You my, feisty raccoon are the most perfect creature to ever exist." There was the usual kiss on her forehead.
"You liked it? That's the only routine I actually know." She chuckled lightly.
"Everything you do is perfection, Hastings."
The words melted her heart but she frowned realizing something. "Why don't you ever call me by my name?"
"I do. Hastings." He held her hands, pulling her towards him.
"No, that's my father's name. My name is Kayla." She pursed her lips and Oliver peeled out a laugh from deep in his stomach and his throat quivered from the sound.
"I call you whatever I want, Hastings. Now let's go home." His finger traced her nose and noticed that under the white light of the rink, Kayla's freckles weren't prominent. He sighed and when they were done changing they left the rink.
"I had fun today, Ollie. Thank you." Oliver took her coat and hung in otherwise she would just fling it somewhere. He accepted her the way she was but he understood that she could be a little bit organized because she was always looking for something every other day.
It was rubbing off on her too. Her clothes were now hung in the closet and not lying on their bed. It was good to see but he liked her no matter what. She didn't need to change to be with him. They were perfect for each other.
"Do you want to play a game of Scrabble?" She asked. Chess wasn't her forte.
He agreed and they sat cross-legged, facing each other on the couch, the game in between them.
This was a bad idea. Oliver noted. He was winning the game and Kayla was losing which meant trouble. Her brows were furrowed and her left eye was twitching.
When he spelled another word and got a higher score, she lost it. "You are cheating! There is no way!"
"I am not cheating Hastings. Maybe it hasn't occurred to you that you might be terrible at this game." He sneered.
"Me? Terrible? You are," her hands frantically hovered the board, "doing something! Fess up!"
"The only thing that's happening is the brain damage you're going to get from saying nonsense. You are insane!" His lips twitched.
"I'm insane!? I'm insane!? I'll show you crazy!" The crazy woman flipped the board over making the tiles scatter and some landing in Oliver.
"Are you mad!? What the fuck is wrong with you!? Why would you do that!?" He grabbed her ankle and pulled her to the ground.
"Oliver Bartholomew Wilde! You fucking asshole! You will pay for that!" She stood up from the floor and used the book on the table to hit his head.
She climbed on top of him and kept hitting him with it. "Get off me you crazy raccoon!"
That was how their evenings went. Paradise. This was Kayla's heaven and nothing was going to ruin it or so they thought.
'Revel in the present, for it is fleeting; tomorrow may come, but it does not promise you its mercy.'